A Break From the Ordinary
by Kannachan27
Summary: Larsa.Penelo; the pair takes a break during their adventures.


Title: A Break From the Ordinary

Author: kannachan27

Fandom: Final Fantasy XII

Character/Pairing: Larsa, Penelo

Warnings: None. Hints of possible Older!Larsa/Penelo?

Word count: 2042

Notes: First dive into the FF12 Fandom with this fic. And a great thanks to **Mikazuki_Yume** for helping me with some scenes that I was having trouble with. And pretty much inspiring this idea.

----

"Penelo!" She turned just in time to see the wolf-like creature lunge for her face. She brought her arms up to cover her face and adjusted the dagger to slice it's muzzle. Bringing her hand down, she was not even close to the beast when she heard it whine, sounding like the dog that it was related to, and saw it fall to the ground.

"Penelo… are you alright?" She looked into the worried eyes of the Prince who traveled with them and nodded. He searched her face for any sign of wounds, but there were no scratches, just dirt and sweat. His gaze traveled to her hand, where he saw some old scratches and scars, as well as what could be a bite mark. He grabbed her hand quickly, and she winced. "Sorry," he said, "Did it bite you?"

"Y-Yeah." She smiled, "But don't worry! It doesn't hurt _too_ bad, and it'll probably heal within a week or two." She felt his gloved thumb brush against the punctures and bit her lip, "Though, the bruises will probably be there for a while longer."

Larsa's frown deepened. "Please, let's find some place to wash it out, at least. I can do… _some_ sort of medical treatment. I mean…" he glanced away, embarrassed, "I have basic training, after all. It couldn't hurt."

"Umm… sure. I don't see why not." She smiled and flexed her fingers when he let her hand go, storing her dagger for the moment. Though, if they were in danger, Larsa's blade would be of far more use than her dagger. Still, she might need it. She wiped off the drying blood and grimaced. Really, it wasn't all that bad. It just hurt a little.

Larsa looked around and saw Vaan leaning against a rock, moaning about something. Balthier was straightening his cuffs, mentioning something to Fran with a slight grimace. Basch and Ashe were quietly conversing. Walking briskly to Vaan, Larsa made up his mind. "Excuse me, Vaan? May I have a word?"

"Huh?" Vaan blinked up at him. "Uhh…sure." He stretched once more and then stood, walking a little bit away from the group. He didn't notice Fran smile, or the way her ear twitched in his direction. "So? What did you wanna talk about?"

"Well, to be blunt…" Larsa glanced over to Penelo, who was sitting on a tall rock, kicking her legs idly, staring into the sky. "I was going to tell you that I am taking Penelo somewhere."

"Really?" Vaan didn't sound very surprised, more skeptical than not. "Well, where were you going to take her?"

"Her hand was injured by that last wolf, so I decided that it would be best to wash it out and treat it. I saw a….ravine of sorts nearby when we passed through here earlier, and I thought that would be a fine place to go."

"She was injured?" Vaan stood up a bit taller, turning to look at Penelo, who was just leaning back on her hands, kicking her feet.

"Yes, she was. But I don't expect that you would have noticed, as you were busy assisting the former Princess Ashe." Larsa smiled coldly, something that was oddly reminiscent of his elder brother, Vayne, "Even if it is Penelo, who can take care of herself, I know, a lady of her stature cannot take on three oversized wolves by herself."

"Hey," Vaan started, intending to defend himself, "I know that she can hold her own. Everyone knows that! She doesn't complain about it when I leave her on her own like this!"

"Perhaps you're right. But you should probably pay her more attention. Not all of those High Potions were from me, you know." Pausing to regain his composure, he closed his eyes. "Now," he said, opening them, "I am going to clean out her wound so that it will not get infected, to start with. I trust that you have no objections to her health being cared for?"

Vaan's face softened. When he put it that way… Wait. _Penelo_ had been using her High Potions on him? He was so far away from her! "No," he murmured, "Take care of her." The corner of his mouth turned upward when he remembered a scene similar to this. "Take care of her… _Lamont_."

With a small smile of his own, Larsa nodded his head. "I give you my word, as a member of the House Solidor, that I will take care of her." With that, Larsa turned and walked away.

"Well," Vaan heard the amusement in the slightly deep voice coming from behind him, "That was anti-climactic."

"Poor boy," Fran's amused voice joined in, "He has no idea how she feels. Nor does he know how to speak to those around him."

"That is quite true. In fact, didn't we say that we were going to have to work on that?" Balthier chuckled, clapping a hand on Vaan's shoulder. "You still have much to learn, if you ever want to be the leading man."

A chuckle from Fran made both men turn their heads toward her. "He has much to learn to become a man at all."

"H-hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Vaan tried to shrug off Balthier's hand, but his grasp was tighter than he'd expected.

"Come along. We don't have all day."

---------

"Penelo?"

"Hmm?" She looked down from her perch on the tall rock, seeing Larsa staring up at her. "Oh, hello! How did your talk with Vaan go?"

"Hmm. As well as can be expected, I suppose."

Penelo smiled fondly, "Well, it _is_ Vaan." She scanned the horizon once more before jumping down from the rock, landing with a soft, "hah!" before smiling at Larsa. "Well? Shall we go?"

He nodded. "It's this way. I think you will like it there. It seems to be quite peaceful." He took her uninjured hand and started walking away from the group. "It's this way, I believe."

"Umm. Okay." Penelo walked quietly beside Larsa, watching her feet as well as the ground they were on. Soon, she could hear the sound of trickling water and looked up to see a place that she hadn't seen before.

It was like a desert oasis, of a sort. It was warm and wet and green, but the closer they got to the place, the cooler it became. The water looked inviting and she longed to wade in and just sit there. She saw flowers of all sorts blooming near the water; pink and red and white and blue and all sorts of colors that she didn't see much of in Rabanastre. Then again, she didn't see many flowers in Rabanastre. It was practically in the destert, surrounded as it was.

"Excuse me, Penelo?" She looked towards Larsa, trying to keep her gaze from her surroundings. "What do you think..? Do you like it?" he sounded a bit uneasy, as if he was aiming to please her.

"It's…" with her eyes wide, she stepped forward, feeling Larsa's fingers go lax around hers, letting her go. "It's… _beautiful_. Larsa, how did you find such a place?" She knew that the awe in her voice was evident, but was too absorbed in the sight to care.

Larsa smiled, "We went by here earlier, but I'm afraid that Fran and I might have been the only ones to have noticed it, at the time. I thought that it would be a wonderful place to bring someone."

Penelo kneeled by the water, dipping her hand in it and retracting it. "It-It's cold!" she exclaimed, shocked. This time, she sank her hand into the water gradually, getting used to the temperature. "It feels… nice," she concluded.

Larsa smiled and carefully walked forward, sitting beside her. "We should rinse off your hand," he reminded her.

Nodding, Penelo dipped her other hand in the water, watching as the dried blood began to fade into the water, and then softly began to wipe it away. Once it was gone, the water nearby was tainted lightly pink and she could see the bruises left from the wolf's bite. They were dark, the color of bruises that she used to get when she was younger and could get more seriously hurt than she would now. "It doesn't look too bad," she observed.

"Not as bad as it could have been, perhaps." Larsa agreed. He took off his gloves and set them beside him before reaching into a pouch, pulling out a small bottle. "Salve," he said, "in order to prevent infection and to promote quicker healing." He held out his hand, waiting for Penelo to give him hers, and spread a bit onto his fingers. He looked up and met her eyes, smiling. "It will sting a little bit, but it will work. Don't worry."

Penelo thought that it was a bit absurd that this twelve year old was telling her something like that. Though, he knew more about the--salve, was it?--that he was spreading onto her hand than she did. He probably used it often, when he was alone. Though, she winced slightly, his warnings were not in vain. It did sting a bit, once it got into the open wound.

"Would you like me to bandage your hand, as well?" Larsa asked, slightly worried. He held a small roll of bandages and seemed to be prepared to use them.

Penelo smiled, "I don't think that's necessary right now, Larsa. Thank you."

Larsa smiled, relieved. "That's good, then." He was silent for a moment, and then: "Can I tell you something?"

Confused, Penelo nodded. "Sure."

"I am not the best at wrapping bandages," he said. "I could almost never get it right, when they taught me how."

Penelo laughed. "It's okay, Larsa. I won't tell." She winked at him. "Wanna know something about me?"

Larsa blinked, surprised and taken aback. "S-sure," he said softly, struck nearly speechless at the offer.

"Everyone that I know in Rabanastre seems to think of me as, well… an older sister. Everyone my age or younger, that is. We lost our parents in the war, as you know, and I took care of them." She smiled. "We all took care of each other, really, but everyone always sees me as their sister, not a girl or a woman."

"That must have been difficult," Larsa murmured.

"Mm," she nodded, "a little. But I don't mind that much. But sometimes…" she sighed, leaning forward and lightly raking her hand through the water. "Sometimes I just want somebody to treat me as a girl, rather than the big sister, or one of the guys."

"Well," Larsa said shortly, "I think I can do that." He smiled, reaching for her hand, lifting it to his lips. "Good afternoon, Lady Penelo. Would you do me the pleasure of taking a walk together?"

Penelo smiled, her face colored slightly pink. "I would love to," she replied.

Larsa smiled and plucked a single blue flower from the bunch growing next to him, offering it to Penelo, "Then let us go," he said, picking up his gloves and standing before offering Penelo his hand.

Penelo took his hand and giggled happily. Larsa smiled. "Are you enjoying yourself, Lady Penelo?"

"Very much so, Lord Larsa," she said, trying to stifle her giggles. "Even as I feel like a young girl pretending to be the Princess. Being escorted on the Prince's arm, and all."

Larsa was silent for a long moment, just walking, deep in thought. "And if it was not only pretend…?" he finally said, softly. He almost expected not to be heard, but Penelo's gasp and the tightened grip around his arm told him otherwise. He waited, half for an answer and half just for his words to sink in. When he was positive that she had understood his meaning, he added. "Of course, not immediately. Perhaps… when I am older?"

Penelo smiled at his innocent asking. Though he certainly looked the part, this boy was not as naïve and innocent as one would believe. He had plans and he was to become the leader, one day. A good leader, that the people of Archadia would likely look kindly upon. "Perhaps," she said. "Perhaps, when you are older."

Yes. When he was older, they would see. Just what kind of man would he be? Penelo almost couldn't wait to find out.

She knew, however, that he most certainly would be "Leading Man" material, in Balthier's words.

She smiled down at the small blue flower that she grasped lightly in her hand. "Thank you," she whispered.

Larsa smiled.

-end-


End file.
